China Premier Asks to Stay on High Alert on H7N9 Bird Flu

April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called
on health officials and residents to remain vigilant against the
bird flu, as the number of infections rose over the weekend.

“We need to stay on high alert as this is a new virus, and
we don’t have all the information,” Li said today during a
visit to the nation’s disease control agency in Beijing,
according to a report posted on China National Radio’s website.
“It looks preventable and controllable now, and there is no
evidence showing human-to-human transmission.”

China reported 10 more cases of the H7N9 avian influenza
since early Friday, bringing the total number to 122 including
24 deaths, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and the
official Xinhua News Agency. The central province of Hunan
confirmed its first case yesterday, while eastern Jiangxi added
three more for a total of five, according to Xinhua.

Li urged health officials to lower the rate of fatalities
from the disease and to continue releasing information to the
public, according to today’s report. He spoke with officials
from Zhejiang province, which has had 45 cases, as well as those
from Lushan county in Sichuan province, the epicenter of the
6.6-magnitude earthquake on April 20, on epidemic prevention
through video conferences, said the report.

Michael O’Leary, the World Health Organization’s
representative in China, visited the Chinese Center for Disease
Control and Prevention today as well, according to CNR.